Low delivery rate valve

ABSTRACT

A low delivery rate aerosol valve including a valve body comprising an enlarged upper portion having a valve body cavity formed therein and an elongated lower portion having a plurality of expansion chambers therein which are interconnected in series by a plurality of restricted interconnecting channels that lead to the valve body cavity. The valve further includes an elongated dip tube fitted over the elongated lower portion of the valve body which are disposed relative to one another so that the plurality of expansion chambers may be formed on the outer surface of the elongated portion and in the inner wall of the elongated dip tube tail such that product flows through the series of expansion and restrictive channels to the valve body cavity and valve stem discharge orifice and thence dispensed through the terminal orifice.

United States Patent [191 Ewald LOW DELIVERY RATE VALVE [76] Inventor:Ronald F. Ewald, 2700 Cardinal Dr., Rolling Meadows, lll. 60008 [22]Filed: Aug. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 389,729

[52] US. Cl. ZZZ/402.22 [Sl] Int. Cl B65d 83/14 [58] Field of Search222/564, 402.], 464, 189,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,34l,082 9/l967 MeshbergZZZ/402.20 X

Primary ExaminerStanley H. Tollberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmStein &Orman [451 July 8, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT A low delivery rate aerosol valveincluding a valve body comprising an enlarged upper portion having avalve body cavity formed therein and an elongated lower portion having aplurality of expansion chambers therein which are interconnected inseries by a plurality of restricted interconnecting channels that leadto the valve body cavity. The valve further includes an elongated diptube fitted over the elongated lower portion of the valve body which aredisposed relative to one another so that the plurality of expansionchambers may be formed on the outer surface of the elongated portion andin the inner wall of the elongated clip tube tail such that productflows through the series of expansion and restrictive channels to thevalve body cavity and valve stem discharge orifice and thence dispensedthrough the terminal orifice.

14 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures LOW DELIVERY RATE VALVE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a lowdelivery rate aerosol valve comprising a plurality of expansion chambersinterconnected by a corresponding plurality of interconnecting passagesto deliver product at a reduced rate.

2. Description of the Prior Art Aerosol dispensers generally comprise acontainer having valve means mounted in the upper portion thereof tocontrol the discharge of product therefrom. Such valve means arecommonly spring biased to seal the discharge opening when the dispenseris not in use. A dip tube generally extends downwardly into the liquidproduct to a point adjacent to the container bottom.

A gaseous propellant normally occupies the head space at the top of thecontainer adjacent the valve means. When the container is full, productand propellant are located beneath the head space as product isdispensed. The head space increases causing some of the propellant tovaporize. The vaporization of propellant maintains the internal pressuresubstantially constant. As a result, the dispensing rate of the productremains relatively constant.

With the advent of the use of compressed gasses, such as NO, CO and Nwhich frequently dissolve in the product, as the only propellant, theinternal pres sure is much higher. Therefore, a low delivery rate valveis needed to avoid undue expenditure of product and to avoid jet streamdispensing of product. For example, a rate of approximately 0.2 gramsper second versus the customary 0.8 grams per second is now needed toprovide a soft spray when such gases are used as the propellant.

Several methods have been developed to provide a slow discharge rate inaerosol dispensers. One such method employs the use of a capillary diptube of very small inner diameter. This effectively slows the dischargerate of the liquid product. An even simpler technique to slow thedischarge rate is to reduce the diameter of the discharge orifice. Athird method is the use of a vapor tap which creates a leak from thehead space into the discharge stream to reduce the pressure drop acrossa valve body orifice thereby reducing the flow of liquid into the valvebody and out the terminal orifice. Unfortunately, each of these methodsexhibits certain disadvantages.

Specifically, it is difficult to maintain proper dip tube orientationwhen using a capillary dip tube. As a result, when the dispenser is usedin the inverted position, the lower open end of the dip tube is exposedto vapor rather than to the product to be dispensed. In addition, thelimited dip tube capacity results in exhaustion of the liquid contentsin the dip tube after which vapor is exhausted from the dispenser.

The reduced diameter discharge orifice is particularly susceptible toclogging with a product having a high solids content. In addition, theuse of such small reduced diameter orifices can result in largedischarge rate fluctuations because proportionally large varia tions incross-sectional area result from variations in the orifice diameterwhich are within normal production tolerances.

The use of a vapor tap is not feasible when the product comprises largeparticles or droplets since vapor in the product stream tends to agitateand break up the fluid product into small particles defeating thepossibility of the desired large particles in the spray.

Thus, there is a need for an effective means of producing a low deliveryrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a unique low deliveryrate aerosol valve. More specifically, the aerosol valve comprises avalve body including an enlarged upper portion and an elongated lowerportion having a plurality of expansion chamber formed therein which areinterconnected by a plurality of interconnecting passages which lead tothe valve body cavity. The term elongated in referring to the elongatedlower portion of the valve body is meant to describe a dimension andconfiguration of the lower portion being sufficient to have at least theupper portion of the dip tube attached thereto.

The valve body cavity formed in the enlarged upper portion communicateswith a recess formed in the upper end of the elongated lower portion ofthe valve body. The lower end of the elongated lower portion includesrestricted feed passage means comprising a plurality of restrictedorifices and feed passages. The lower end of the restricted feed passagemeans is in communication with the interior of the aerosol dispenserwhile the upper end is in direct communication with the recess formed inthe upper end of elongated lower portion of the valve body. A valve stemincluding an enlarged tail portion and a valve stem discharge orifice ismovably disposed within the valve body cavity. A spring bias meansdisposed with the cavity normally biases the valve stem against a valveseal to close the valve.

In an alternate embodiment, the expansion chambers are formed on theouter wall of the elongated lower portion which is in cooperation with adip tube tail secured to the outer surface of the elongated lowerportion to cooperatively form the expansion chambers previouslydescribed.

In operation, product is dispensed by depressing the valve button andvalve stem affixed thereto. As the button is depressed, the dischargeorifice of the valve stem is exposed to the interior of the valve bodyallowing product to flow from the interior of the aerosol dispenserthrough the restricted orifice and feed passages through the recess andcavity. From there, the product flows through the discharge orifice ofthe valve stem and out the terminal orifice formed in the face of thevalve button. The fiow of product through the series of restrictedorifices and expansion chambers flows along a circuitous route due tothe relative dispositions and orientations of the successively arrangedrestricted orifices or channels and expansion chambers. This permitsdelivery at a low rate even with the use of extremely high pressurepropellants such as compressed gas and the like. The structure of therestricted feed passage means also continuously reblends the productduring the dispensing cycle.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of constructioncombination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of thenature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. I is a cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of the inventionmounted in an aerosol dispenser.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view, partly broken away and in section, ofthe valve body of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of an alternate embodiment of the subjectinvention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line S5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a partial side view of the alternate embodiment of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a partial side view of still another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG.8 taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I shows theaerosol valve of the present invention generally indicated as 10 incombination with a typical aerosol dispenser generally indicated as 12.Aerosol dispenser 12 includes container 14 and mounting cup 16 attachedthereto.

Aerosol valve 10 comprises valve body 18 which includes sealing means 20which is positioned in sealing engagement with and tubular valve stem22, also considered a part of valve body 18. Valve body 18 comprises anenlarged upper portion 24 having valve cavity 26 formed therein and anelongated lower portion 28 having a recess 30 formed therein. Formed inthe lower end of elongated portion 28 is restricted feed passage meansgenerally indicated as 32.

As best shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5 3, restricted feed passage means 32comprises a plurality of expansion chambers 34 each comprising a pocketbracket interconnected by a plurality of restricted feed channels 36.The plurality of expansion chambers are arranged in substantiallysuccessive relation to one another and each two successively arrangedchambers are interconnected by at least one restricted feed channel. Theinitial expansion chamber 34a communicates with the interior ofcontainer 14 through passage 38 while the last expansion chamber 34bcommunicates with recess 30 through passage 40 as best shown in FIG. 2.It should be noted that expansion chambers 34 are arranged relative toeach other to provide extreme changes of direction of the fluid as itpasses through the restricted feed passage means 32 to cause acontinuous reblending of the fluid as it is dispensed from thedispenser. The restricted feed channels 36 with expansion chamber 34 incombination with the circuitous routing of the fluid also creates a lowdelivery rate.

As best shown in FIG. 1, valve 10 is contained within the central turretportion of mounting cup 16. Tubular valve stem 22 extends throughaperture 42 formed in sealing means 20. Valve stem 22 includes dischargeorifice 44. Valve stem 22 is disposed within cavity 26, and

is spring biased to the normally closed position by the Spring 46 iscompressed between the lower portion 48 of stem 22 and ledge 50 formedby the lower end of of recess 30. Button actuator 52 including terminalorifice 54 is affixed to the upper portion of valve stem 22. Sealingmeans 20 is wedged between the upper portion of valve body 18 andmounting cup 16.

FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment identical to the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 through 3 except at least two sets of restricted feed channels36 and expansion chambers 34 disposed in substantially parallel planesare arranged vertically along elongated lower portion 28.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an alternate embodiment of the present invention. Thevalve body generally indicated as 56 comprises enlarged upper portion 58extending downward to a reduced elongated lower portion 60. Valve bodycavity 62 is formed in upper portion 58 while recess 64 in directcommunicationtherewith extends downward into the upper end of elongatedlower portion 60. Recess 64 includes stepped recess 66. Dip tube 68 isattached to the outer surface of elongated lower portion 60 as bestshown in FIG. 6. Restricted feed passage means comprises expansionchamber 70 formed by recesses 72 and the inner wall 74 of dip tube 68interconnected by restricted feed channels 76. Restricted feed channels76 may comprise a constant diameter passage or a stepped diameter asshown in FIG. 5. The interior of container 14 communicates directly withthe lower most expansion chamber 70a while the uppermost expansionchamber 90b communicates with the stepped recess 66. As previouslydescribed, the entire valve body 56 is mounted to mounting cup 16 andincludes the valve stem 22 and bias means 46.

FIGS. 8 and 9 shown still another alternate embodiment of the lowdelivery rate valve wherein a restricted feed passage means comprises aplurality of diagonally disposed expansion chambers 78 formed about theouter surface of the elongated lower member 80 interconnected by aseries of restricted feed channels 82 formed transversely across member80 to the next adjacent diagonally disposed expansion chamber 78.

It should be noted that in the last alternate embodiment, expansionchamber 78 may be angular, V-shaped or oval shaped.

By varying the shapes and relative sizes of both the expansion chambersand restricted feed channels the discharge characteristics of theproduct may be varied.

With reference to FIGS. 1 through 5, button actuator 52 is depressed anddischarge orifice 44 is exposed to the interior valve body cavity 26.This allows product to flow from the interior of container 14 throughexpansion chambers 34 and restricted feed channels 36 of restricted feedpassage means 32 and into valve body cavity 26. The product flows fromvalve body cavity 26 through discharge orifice 44 into discharge passage45 of valve stem 22 and out terminal orifice 54.

Each alternate embodiment operates identically to the embodiment shownin FIG. I. That is in FIGS. 6 and 7, product flows through therestricted feed means into stepped recess 66 through recess 64, valvebody cavity 62 and from thence to discharge orifice 44, dischargepassage 45 and out terminal orifice 54. In the alternate embodiment ofFIGS. 8 and 9, product flows through restricted feed channels 82 andexpansion chambers 78 into valve body cavity 62 and from there throughdischarge orifice 44 into discharge passage 45 and out terminal orificeS4.

The circuitous route of product through the restricted feed channels andexpansion chambers creates a low delivery rate. In addition, thepositioning of the expansion chambers relative to each other and to therestricted orifice channels causes a continuous reblending of product asit is dispensed.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and,since certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be sais to fall therebetween.

Now that the invention has been described, what is claimed is:

l. A low delivery rate aerosol valve for use in combination with anaerosol dispenser comprising a valve body including an enlarged upperportion and a lower portion connected to said upper portion, saidenlarged upper portion including a valve body cavity formed on theinterior of said valve body, restricted feed passage means formed insaid lower portion in fluid communication with said valve body cavity, avalve stem movably mounted within said valve body cavity to open andclose the valve, said restricted feed passage means comprising aplurality of expansion chambers and a plurality of restricted channels,said plurality of expansion chambers disposed in substantiallysuccessive relation to one another, each two successively disposedexpansion chambers interconnected by at least one of said plurality ofrestricted channels, said successively arranged plurality of expansionchambers and plurality of restricted channels disposed in predeterminedflow reversing relation to one another so as to substantially reversethe main fluid flow through said restricted feed passage means, saidrestricted feed passage means disposed in fluid communicating relationbetween said valve body cavity and the interior of the dispenser,whereby upon actuation of the valve the contents of the dispenser passthrough said restricted feed passage means to the atmosphere.

2. A low delivery rate aerosol valve as in claim 1 wherein saidplurality of expansion chambers and said plurality of restrictedchannels include a first predetermined number of expansion chambers andrestricted channels arranged in interconnected, fluid communicatingrelation to one another and disposed in a substantially planarconfiguration.

3. A low delivery rate aerosol valve as in claim 2 wherein saidrestricted feed passage means comprises a second plurality of expansionchambers and restricted channels arranged in interconnected relation toone another and disposed into a substantially planar configuration inspaced, substantially parallel relation to the planar configurationdefined by said first predetermined number of expansion chambers andinterconnected restricted channels.

4. A low delivery rate aerosol valve as in claim 1 wherein saidplurality of expansion chambers and said plurality of restricted feedchannels comprise a substantially circuitous configuration such thatfluid flow through said plurality of expansion chambers and re strictedfeed channels encounters a directional change of at least as the fluidpasses through the restricted feed passage means.

5. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 wherein saidrestricted feed passage means includes a second plurality of expansionchambers disposed between said first plurality of expansion chambers andthe interior of the aerosol dispenser, each said expansion chamber ofsaid second plurality being disposed in substantially the same plane.

6. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 5 wherein said commonplane of said first plurality is substantially parallel to said commonplane of said second plurality.

7. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 wherein said valvebody further includes a dip tube attached to said elongated lowerportion of said valve body, each said expansion chamber cooperativelyformed by a recess formed on the side wall of said elongated lowerportion and the inner surface of said dip tube.

8. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 7 wherein each saidexpansion chamber comprises an elongated recess formed longitudinally onsaid side wall of said elongated lower portion.

9. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 7 wherein each saidexpansion chamber comprises a diagonally disposed recess, each saidexpansion chamber interconnected to the next adjacent said expansionchamber by one of said restricted feed channels formed transverselythrough said elongated lower member.

10. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 9 wherein each saidexpansion chamber comprises an oval shaped cross-sectional area.

11. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 9 wherein each saidexpansion chamber comprises a V- shaped cross-sectional area.

12. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 7 wherein each saidexpansion chamber and said corresponding restricted feed channel areangularly inclined relative to each other.

13. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 wherein the diameterof each of said plurality of channels is different.

14. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 wherein each of saidadjacent channels comprises a different diameter.

9 i l i t UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 3 893 597 Dated ul) 8 1975 Ronald P. Ewald Inventor(s) It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, line 30, "90b" should read 70b Column 5, line 39, delete"predetermined".

Signed and Scaled this rhirrieth Day of Dmnnber 1915 [SEAL] Arrest:

RU'I'I-l C. MASON C. IAISIIALL DANN Arresting Office! Commissioner ofhull: and Trademarks

1. A low delivery rate aerosol valve for use in combination with anaerosol dispenser comprising a valve body including an enlarged upperportion and a lower portion connected to said upper portion, saidenlarged upper portion including a valve body cavity formed on theinterior of said valve body, restricted feed passage means formed insaid lower portion in fluid communication with said valve body cavity, avalve stem movably mounted within said valve body cavity to open andclose the valve, said restricted feed passage means comprising aplurality of expansion chambers and a plurality of restricted channels,said plurality of expansion chambers disposed in substantiallysuccessive relation to one another, each two successively disposedexpansion chambers interconnected by at least one of said plurality ofrestricted channels, said successively arranged plurality of expansionchambers and plurality of restricted channels disposed in predeterminedflow reversing relation to one another so as to substantially reversethe main fluid flow through said restricted feed passage means, saidrestricted feed passage means disposed in fluid communicating relationbetween said valve body cavity and the interior of the dispenser,whereby upon actuation of the valve the contents of the dispenser passthrough said restricted feed passage means to the atmosphere.
 2. A lowdelivery rate aerosol valve as in claim 1 wherein said plurality ofexpansion chambers and said plurality of restricted channels include afirst predetermined number of expansion chambers and restricted channelsarranged in interconnected, fluid communicating relation to one anotherand disposed in a substantially planar configuration.
 3. A low deliveryrate aerosol valve as in claim 2 wherein said restricted feed passagemeans comprises a second plurality of expansion chambers and restrictedchannels arranged in interconnected relation to one another and disposedinto a substantially planar configuration in spaced, substantiallyparallel relation to the planar configuration defined by said firstpredetermined number of expansion chambers and interconnected restrictedchannels.
 4. A low delivery rate aerosol valve as in claim 1 whereinsaid plurality of expansion chambers and said plurality of restrictedfeed channels comprise a substantially circuitous configuration suchthat fluid flow through said plurality of expansion chambers andrestricted feed channels encounters a directional change of at least 90*as the fluid passes through the restricted feed passage means.
 5. Thelow delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 wherein said restricted feedpassage means includes a second plurality of expansion chambers disposedbetween said first plurality of expansion chambers and the interior ofthe aerosol dispenser, each said expansion chamber of said secondplurality being disposed in substantially the same plane.
 6. The lowdelivery rate aerosol valve of claim 5 wherein said common plane of saidfirst plurality is substantially parallel to said common plane of saidsecond plurality.
 7. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1wherein said valve body further includes a dip tube attached to saidelongated lower portion of said valve body, each said expansion chambercooperatively formed by a recess formed on the side wall of saidelongated lower portion and the inner surface of said dip tube.
 8. Thelow delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 7 wherein each said expansionchamber comprises an elongated recess formed longitudinally on said sidewall of said elongated lower portion.
 9. The low delivery rate aerosolvalve of claim 7 wherein each said expansion chamber comprises adiagonally disposed recess, each said expansion chamber interconnectedto the next adjacent said expansion chamber by one of said restrictedfeed channels formed transversely through said elongated lower member.10. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 9 wherein each saidexpansion chamber comprises an oval shaped cross-sectional area.
 11. Thelow delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 9 wherein each said expansionchamber comprises a V-shaped cross-sectional area.
 12. The low deliveryrate aerosol valve of claim 7 wherein each said expansion chamber andsaid corresponding restricted feed channel are angularly inclinedrelative to each Other.
 13. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim1 wherein the diameter of each of said plurality of channels isdifferent.
 14. The low delivery rate aerosol valve of claim 1 whereineach of said adjacent channels comprises a different diameter.